The taxonomy and systematics of the European Roe Deer have been based on morphological and genetic data. The following subspecies have been confirmed by molecular data (Lorenzini et al. 2002, Randi et al. 2004, Lorenzini and Lovari 2006);

1) C. c. italicus Festa, 1925;
2) C. c. garganta Meunier, 1983 (cf. Lorenzini et al. 2003, 2014);
3) C. c. capreolus Linnaeus, 1758.

The identification of C. c. caucasicus as the correct name for a large-sized subspecies north of the Caucasus Mountains is still provisional (Sempéré et al. 1996, Lister et al. 1998). Animals in the Near East have been assigned to C. c. coxi (Harrison and Bates 1991). Roe deer in Europe are morphologically quite uniform but very complex from a genetic point of view, with three main mitochondrial clades (Randi et al. 2004), related to the isolation of some populations and the expansion and mixing of other ones before and after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 18,000-25,000 years ago) and to the vast refugial areas during the LGM (Plis et al. 2022a and 2022b).

Recent molecular studies have shown the introgression of the Siberian Roe Deer (Capreolus pygargus) mtDNA genes into the eastern populations of the European Roe Deer, in western Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Baltic countries, eastern Poland, but also in Slovakia, Hungary and Romania (Lorenzini et al. 2014, Matosiuk et al. 2014, Olano-Marin et al. 2014, Markov et al. 2016, Plis et al. 2022a). The origin of this introgression is still not completely clear: it would have been mainly a natural ancient process, a post-glacial overlapping of the range of the two species in eastern Europe, reinforced by a more recent human-caused hybridization due to repeated translocations of Siberian Roe Deer into the easternmost range of the European Roe Deer during the 19th and 20th century.

European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)
EU 27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)

A widespread and common species with no major threats. It is listed as Least Concern for Europe and for the EU 27 member states. However, the subspecies C. c. italicus is rare (<10,000 mature individuals) and faces serious threats.

The European Roe Deer has a large range in the Western Palaearctic. It is found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland and the Mediterranean islands), including western Russia and the Caucasus (Lorenzini et al. 2022). The easternmost range of the European Roe Deer is in contact and partly overlaps with that of the Siberian Roe Deer in the Volga-Don region (Kashinina et al. 2018). It occurs from sea level to 2,700 m, in the Alps (Büntgen et al. 2017).

Outside Europe, the species occurs in Transcaucasia, Türkiye, northwestern Syria, northern Iraq, and western and northern Iran (Masseti 2004, Wilson and Reeder 2005, Amiri et al. 2021). It went extinct in Israel, Lebanon and Jordan during the 19th and early 20th century. Recently it was reintroduced in northern Israel (Mount Carmel; 1997-2007) and northwestern Jordan (Ajloun Forest, 2009), but after years the numbers of surviving animals of both populations remain quite small.

Between the 17^th and early 20^th overhunting and habitat loss caused a decline in abundance and range of the species. In the second part of the 20th the species experienced a rapid recovery, mainly thanks to stricter hunting regulations, reintroductions and restocking operations. The scarcity of natural predators and the abandonment of rural areas with the consequent expansion of woodland and scrubland certainly contributed to the increase of many populations (Ledger et al. 2022). The European Roe Deer is now widespread and common and is expanding in many areas. In the early 1980s, the total population size in the continent (Russia excluded) was estimated at around 6 million individuals, with an annual total harvest of about 1.7 million (Gill 1990, Burbaite and Csányi 2009). In 2005 the estimated population grew to at least 10 million animals, with an annual hunting bag of about 2.7 million (Burbaite and Csányi 2009, Apollonio et al. 2010), which increased to more than three million in 2017 (cf. Linnell et al. 2020). In European Russia, the European Roe Deer increased from about 80,000 head in 1990 to 98,000 in 2007 (Burbaite and Csányi 2009). The highest numbers are recorded in Germany, France, and Austria, with an overall harvest of 2 million in 2015.

According to a review at a continental scale, population densities in 72 localities of 19 countries from the UK and Spain to Belarus and Russia range between 0.1 and 54 individuals/km², with an average of 14.5 Roe Deer/km² (Melis et al. 2009).

However, the endemic Italian subspecies C. c. italicus, which is largely restricted to southern Tuscany and Latium in central Italy and to a few areas of southern Italy, probably numbers no more than 10,000 individuals and is at risk due to hybridisation with introduced C. c. capreolus (Lorenzini et al. 2002).

It occupies a wide variety of habitats, including deciduous, mixed or coniferous forests, moorland, pastures, arable land, and suburban areas with large gardens. It prefers landscapes with a mosaic of woodland and farmland (Sempéré et al. 1996, Lorenzini et al. 2022). Roe Deer are well adapted to modern agricultural landscapes.

The main threat in Europe is the increased mixing of various genetic stocks as a result of translocations. This may be a particular threat to genetically distinct peripheral populations, such as those in Scotland, northern Portugal, southern Italy, North Macedonia, and Greece (Randi et al. 2004, Lorenzini and Lovari 2006, Royo et al. 2007, Baker and Hoelzel 2013, Tsaparis et al. 2019, Barros et al. 2020).

Molecular studies indicate that human manipulation has affected the natural genetic structure of many populations (Lorenzini et al. 2002, Randi et al. 2004). The remaining populations of C. c. italicus and other Mediterranean areas are also threatened by poaching, predation by feral dogs, fires and competition with Fallow Deer (Lorenzini et al. 2002, Focardi et al. 2006, Ferretti and Fattorini 2020, Ledger et al. 2022).

This is a game species, hunted for meat and for recreation.

The species is listed on the Bern Convention (Appendix III) and occurs in a large number of protected areas across its range.

To protect remnant populations of the Italian Roe Deer C. c. italicus, Lorenzini et al. (2002) recommend the following measures: (1) Conduct research to determine the genetic structure of Italian Roe Deer, (2) Map extant populations of Italian Roe Deer, with indications of their genetic purity, (3) Prohibit translocations of Roe Deer from northern stocks to central and southern Italy, and vice versa, (4) Facilitate the expansion of remaining populations by reducing poaching and eliminating feral dogs, and (5) Establish a reintroduction plan for southern Italy. Actually, reintroductions were carried out in 2001-2014 in Tolfa Mountains (Latium), Cilento National Park (S Campania), Aspromonte N. P. (southern Calabria), Gallipoli-Cognato Regional Park (Basilicata).

Similar actions are recommended to protect genetically distinct peripheral native populations in Scotland, Iberian Peninsula, North Macedonia, and Greece. In general, any translocations of Roe Deer should respect the genetic integrity of populations at the destination site.